The rain held off long enough Saturday in Johnson City to play the game, but the Chattanooga softball team brought a little of its own, raining down four home runs to beat ETSU 7-2 in Southern Conference action.
With the Mocs trailing 1-0 in the fourth, Baileigh Pitts put a first-pitch shot over the fence in left field to give UTC a 2-0 lead. Acelynn Sellers led off the inning with a double and pinch runner Abi Pikas scored on the homer.
In the fifth, Chattanooga added a third run.
Kailey Snell reached on a double and advanced to third on a single by pinch hitter Presley Williamson. Camryn Cernuto reentered to run the bases and was caught stealing. However, that opened up the chance for Snell to score from third and UTC was up 3-1. It was the first time Cernuto was caught this season.
Pitts led off the sixth with a single through the left side. With two outs, freshman Mia Leone stepped up to the plate to pinch hit. She didn’t wait long to get her first collegiate home run. Leone took the first pitch well out of the park clearing the fence in left field and down the hill adding two more runs for Chattanooga.
In the seventh, the Mocs decided to shake it up. Olivia Lipari led off with a home run to left and Acelynn Sellers took a cue from her and the duo went back-to-back to make it a 7-2 advantage.
The Bucs picked up their first run, scoring on a double into the gap in left center. The second was a solo home run in the sixth.
Peja Goold struck out seven and improved to 23-5 on the year. She takes sole possession of seventh on the single-season wins list.
Pitts was 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBI. Leone was 1-for-1 with a homer and a pair of runs batted in. Sellers was 2-for-4 with a home run, a double and an RBI.
The Mocs improved to 38-12 overall and 14-4 in SoCon play. ETSU dropped to 16-34 on the season and 5-14 against the league.